WNBA star Brittney Griner has filed for divorce from her wife, Cherelle, claiming their marriage is "irretrievably broken."
The Connecticut Sun star submitted the court documents in Fulton County on Thursday, according to records obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The filing states the couple, married since 2019, officially separated on July 24 following a breakdown in their relationship.
Griner, 35, is seeking joint legal and physical custody of the couple's two-year-old son. She is also requesting an equitable division of all marital assets, and the filing says she should be awarded her separate, nonmarital property, including inherited property and premarital property.
The split comes eight years after the couple tied the knot. Cherelle stood by Griner during her 2022 ordeal in Russia, where the basketball star was detained for nearly 10 months before being released in a prisoner swap.
Customs agents in Russia discovered a small container of cannabis oil in Griner's luggage, which she later attributed to a "mental lapse" while packing to leave the country. The incident occurred at the onset of Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, and Griner quickly became a significant trade chip in the geopolitical conflict.
An 'Out' From the Marriage
After she was sentenced to nine years in prison, Griner said she gave Cherelle an opening to leave the relationship. Speaking to Megan Rapinoe in a conversation for The Cut, Griner recalled writing her wife a letter at the time.
"I'm a realist. I was just like, 'Nine years is a long time, babe. I get it,' basically giving her an out. I asked, 'Can you still be my friend? Write me.'"
Griner said Cherelle refused the offer.
"She was like, 'Don't ever write anything like that again.' She never wavered. When I finally got back she was so patient with me. There were so many times when I just wanted to be alone, and there were days when she couldn't get me away from her."
Griner was ultimately freed when the Biden Administration swapped arms dealer Viktor Bout for her release. She has since advocated for other Americans detained in Russia, including former US Marine Paul Whelan and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, whose releases the Biden Administration negotiated in 2024.
Griner spent the first 12 seasons of her career with the Phoenix Mercury, winning a WNBA championship in 2014, before playing the 2025 season with the Atlanta Dream. She joined the Connecticut Sun in free agency earlier this year in a deal ESPN reported is worth more than $1 million, made possible by the collective-bargaining agreement that provides higher salaries for WNBA players.
